The subject invention relates to concrete landscape edging and in particular to an easy to use, inexpensive, landscape edging form assembly and method of utilizing the landscape edging form assembly to construct concrete landscape edging in place. While the landscape edging form assembly of the subject invention is particularly well suited for use in making concrete landscape edging such as but not limited to concrete edging bordering a garden or lawn, surrounding a tree, plants, or shrubbery, or adjacent a walkway, a driveway, it should be understood that the landscape edging form assembly of the subject invention may also be used to make other concrete edgings associated with landscaping such as but not limited to the edging for a patio or deck, the edging surrounding a swimming pool deck, sandbox or play area, retaining walls, and other applications where an elongated concrete structure having a transverse cross section up to about two feet wide is desired. As used herein, the term “landscape edging form assembly” includes an edging form assembly used for any of the applications set forth in this paragraph.
The landscape edging form assembly of the subject invention can be made of inexpensive disposable or reusable materials and can be erected into straight, angled, curved, sinuous, circular, and oval configurations at the job site. Preferably, the components of the landscape edging form assembly of the subject invention can be easily packaged in a very flat and compact configuration for storage, shipment, and handling and can be quickly and easily unpacked and erected at the job site. While the easy to use and inexpensive landscape edging form assembly and method of the subject invention are particularly well suited for use by the home handy-man, small size contractors, and other entities typically operating on a limited budget and/or with unskilled labor, large contractors can also benefit from the use of the landscape edging form assembly and method of the subject invention.
Concrete landscape edging is desirable because it is durable, can come in different colors, and gives a more substantial break between different landscaping materials than other commonly used landscape edging such as plain or corrugated steel edging strips, plain or corrugated plastic edging strips, composite edging strips, pre-cast concrete blocks, and most wood edging strips. Concrete landscape edging is typically 3″ to 6″ wide, 3″ to 6″ high, and typically has a transverse cross-sectional shape that is rectangular or “L” shaped.
There are currently three general ways to form concrete landscape edging in place: 1) build concrete forms using existing building materials such as 2×4 and 2×6 dimensional lumber; 2) use a concrete edging extrusion machine such as that produced by Tygar Inc. of Canton, Ga. to extrude continuous concrete edging; and 3) assemble reusable forming systems, typically made out of steel and typically used on large commercial jobs. While a concrete edging extrusion machine can be used to form a continuous concrete edging, with the expense, expertise, and labor required in connection with the use of a concrete edging extrusion machine, such a machine is not a practical option for a home handy-man, a small contractor, or even a large contractor when the edging job to be performed is a relatively small job, such as the concrete landscape edging requirements for a home owner. Reusable forming systems, such as those made of steel and commonly used for large commercial applications, are also too expensive and cumbersome to transport, handle, and set up for a home handy-man, a small contractor or even a large contractor when the edging job to be performed is a relatively small job, such as the concrete landscape edging requirements for a home owner.
Of the three general ways to form concrete landscape edging in place listed above, the building of landscape edging forms from existing materials appears to be the best option in the prior art for small jobs. However, there are several problems inherent in the building of landscape edging forms from existing building materials for the in place formation of concrete landscape edging. To fabricate a landscape edging form from existing building materials, basic building materials, such as 2×4's or 2×6's, at least equal to two times the length of the landscape edging form must be purchased and assembled. For example, more than 20 feet of forming material would be required (10 feet for each side plus short sections for the ends) to fabricate an edging form designed to make a concrete landscape edging that is 10 feet in length. In addition to the expense, dimensional lumber is relatively bulky, heavy, and increasingly not very straight. The fabrication of landscape edging forms from dimensional lumber normally requires the measuring and marking of the dimensional lumber so that the dimensional lumber can be cut to the required lengths; the cutting of the dimensional lumber to the measured lengths with an electric saw or other tool, and the use of numerous fasteners to assemble the edging form offside or onsite. Where an edging form or series of edging forms are fabricated offsite, the edging form(s) need to be transported to the job site and then, maneuvered around and located at the job site prior to introducing concrete into the form(s).
Fabricating landscape edging form(s) from existing building materials also requires ensuring that the pieces of dimensional lumber comprising the two sidewalls of the landscape edging form(s) extend parallel with respect to each other. This is typically done by placing wooden or metal stakes in the ground on the outside of the landscape edging form(s) to hold the dimensional lumber sidewalls of the form(s) in place. These stakes are typically heavy, bulky, and expensive and can be easily misaligned so that the dimensional lumber sidewalls of the form(s) are not parallel with respect to each other. In addition, it is very common for the sidewalls in this type of landscape edging form to shift prior to or during the introduction and working of the concrete within the form so that a finished concrete landscape edging made with the form is not uniform in width. This shifting of the form sidewalls can be caused by not using enough stakes to secure the form; by soft or rocky ground that either allows the stakes to shift or prevents the stakes from being driven an adequate distance into the ground to prevent subsequent movement of the sidewalls especially when the concrete is introduced into the form; etc.
Building landscape edging forms for concrete landscape edging from existing building materials also introduces additional fabrication steps that should be followed when constructing such landscape edging forms. After the landscape edging forms are built and prior to introducing the concrete into the forms, these wooden forms should be treated with a release agent to ensure that the forms can be easily separated from the concrete landscape edging once the concrete has set and the formation of the landscape edging is complete. The release agent may be an oil-based product and, like many of the other fabrication steps required in the construction of these wooden edging forms, the application of the release agent to the wooden forms by hand brushing or spraying is labor intensive and time consuming. In addition, the application of the release agent to the wooden forms at the job site typically results in some ground contamination. After these wooden forms are built and treated with a release agent, concrete is poured or shoveled into the forms. Then, a short, straight, rigid object (typically a short section of dimensional lumber) is used to level off the wet concrete to a level substantially even with the top of the form sidewalls. Where the top portions of the stakes used to position the form sidewalls are higher than the forms, the stakes get in the way of leveling off the wet concrete with the dimensional lumber.
In addition to the time, work, expense, and expertise required to fabricate landscape edging forms from dimensional lumber, the use of such forms often presents disposal problems. After the concrete has set up in the wooden forms to fabricate the concrete landscape edging, the wooden forms are normally removed from the edging. However, the dimensional lumber of these wooden forms is typically covered with a thin layer of hardened concrete. Disposing of lengths of dimensional lumber covered with concrete and a release agent can be expensive and/or labor intensive. Many residential trash collectors will not take building products and recyclers typically require all dried concrete be removed from lumber prior to recycling the lumber into mulch. Another drawback to using dimensional lumber for the fabrication of landscape edging forms is that dimensional lumber landscape edging forms are best suited for the creation of straight sections of concrete landscape edging. For many applications where a circular or smooth curved section of concrete landscape edging is desired, it is not practical for a home-handyman or small contractor (due to a lack of skill and/or time) to construct a landscape edging form from dimensional lumber that can be used to make such a circular or smooth curved section of concrete landscape edging.
In addition to the systems discussed above for forming concrete landscape edging in place, U.S. Pat. No. 4,222,197 to Johnson discloses a system for forming concrete garden curbing in place. The Johnson patent discloses a concrete receiving form B made of cardboard, paper mache, peat moss or the like. The form B has a generally V-shaped transverse cross section, is formed by folding a blank A, and utilizes rigid clips C to keep the sidewalls of the form B in a fixed transverse relationship. The form B cannot be flexed or bent into a curved configuration and thus, can only be used to make straight-line forms. For a curved configuration, the Johnson patent discloses the use of forms that are molded or extruded from a suitable material such as plastic.
In addition to forming concrete landscape edging in place, landscape edging can be assembled onsite from preformed members. U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,140 to Russo; U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,093 to Yanna; and Des. 323,604 to Deschryver disclose landscape edging systems that utilize preformed landscape edging members to assemble landscape edging onsite. Another system for forming landscape edging utilizes reusable plastic molds that form two concrete “bricks” at a time. Once the concrete has set up in the mold to form the two “bricks”, the mold is removed and used to form another two “bricks”.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,200 to Stegmeier; U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,068 to Ferland; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,753 to Speidel are exemplary of landscape edging form systems that utilize wooden, steel, or plastic form boards that can be flexed or are bendable to assume other than a straight configuration. U.S. Pat. No. 2,298,837 to Oswald; U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,725 to Sims; U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,895 to Johnson, Jr. et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,487 to Ringler; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,187 to Reimann are exemplary of landscape edging form board holders that can be used with dimensional lumber in the fabrication of forms for concrete edging.